The pears of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

Fruit in season from the middle to the last of September; medium in size, 2½ in. long, 1⅞ in. wide, uniform in size and shape, oblong-pyriform, with sides usually unequal; stem ¾ in. long, thick; cavity obtuse, shallow, narrow, often russeted and lipped; calyx open; lobes separated at the base, narrow, acute; basin shallow to medium, obtuse, gently furrowed, sometimes compressed; skin smooth, dull; color pale yellow, with small patches and streaks of light-colored russet; dots numerous, very small, russet, obscure; flesh whitish, with a yellow tinge at the core, granular, firm but tender, juicy, sweet, slightly aromatic; quality good. Core closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, wide, conical; seeds large, wide, long, plump, acute.

P. BARRY

1. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 38. 1875. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 2d App. 152, fig. 1876. 3. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 18. 1882. 4. Wickson Cal. Fruits 340. 1889. 5. Ellwanger & Barry Cat. 20. 1892. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 17, 68. 1895. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 41. 1909. 8. Wickson Cal. Fruits 273. 1919.

The fruits of P. Barry are among the latest of all the pears grown on the grounds of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station. They do not ripen here until mid-winter and then keep until spring. A serious defect is that they sometimes refuse to ripen but shrivel until decay sets in late in the spring. To make certain that the pears ripen properly, the fruit-room must not be too cold. The pears are excellent in flavor, have good flesh-characters, and when properly ripened are excelled in quality by no other winter pear. The variety should have a place in the collection of every pear fancier to extend the season for this fruit, and commercial pear growers might find it a profitable sort for local market. Unfortunately, the trees are small, fastidious as to environment, and somewhat uncertain in bearing.

Bernard S. Fox, San Jose, California, raised many pears from seed of Belle Lucrative. Among these seedlings was one which fruited in 1873 and was named P. Barry, in honor of Patrick Barry,[31] an eminent nurseryman and horticulturist of Rochester, New York. Of many scores of seedlings raised by Mr. Fox only this one, Fox, and Colonel Wilder were considered by the originator to be worthy of propagation. All these received Wilder medals from the American Pomological Society in 1875 and 1881. In 1909, this Society added P. Barry to its catalog-list of fruits.

Tree variable in size, lacking in vigor, spreading, open-topped, unusually hardy, medium in productiveness; trunk slender; branches stocky, zigzag, reddish-brown mingled with gray scarf-skin, marked with large lenticels; branchlets slender, long, with long internodes, reddish-brown, smooth, glabrous, with few small, very slightly raised lenticels.

Leaf-buds small, short, conical, free. Leaves 1¾ in. long, 1⅛ in. wide, leathery; apex abruptly pointed; margin finely serrate, tipped with few glands; petiole 1½ in. long. Flower-buds small, short, somewhat obtuse, free; flowers open late, 1¼ in. across, well distributed, averaging 7 buds in a cluster; pedicels 1 in. long, slender, slightly pubescent, pale green.

Fruit matures in late December to February; variable in size, averaging 2¾ in. long, 2¼ in. wide, oblong-obtuse-pyriform, irregular, with unequal sides; stem 1 in. long, thick, curved; cavity obtuse, narrow, furrowed, compressed, often lipped; calyx small, open; lobes separated at the base, short, narrow, obtuse; basin shallow, narrow, obtuse, smooth and regular; skin variable in smoothness, dull; color rich yellow, many specimens almost entirely overspread with russet or with russet coating around the cavity and with russet nettings and patches; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; flesh yellowish-white, fine, melting, sweet, juicy, with a rich, vinous, aromatic flavor; quality good. Core large, closed, with clasping core-lines; calyx-tube short, conical; seeds large, wide, long, plump, acute.